Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/05

[Ray Boyles]

Ray’s History Radio & TV Picks. No.2016/05. 6 Feb 2016.

Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands
ITV: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 19.00 – 20.00. 6 / 12
Fantasy-drama is set in a fictional land, where humans and creatures live a life of danger, excitement and adventure. Slean’s intended bride arrives in Herot, but he has other things on his mind than marriage.
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dzck6s/beowulf-return-to-the-shieldlands–series-1—episode-6

War & Peace
BBC One: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 6 / 6
The final episode of Auntie’s epic Tolstoy adaptation finds Napoleon itching for a fight. Instead, Russia’s military leaders decide to wait for him to run out of supplies. This all leads to desperate scenes in Moscow. Andrew Davies’ script, via the privations endured by Pierre, explores Tolstoy’s philosophy without letting it get in the way of the story. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070jkgs

See also an article which includes quotes by Toby Mcleod…
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/bbc/12121019/Downton-Abbey-historical-advisor-bemoans-baffling-War-and-Peace-costume-error.html

Deutschland 83
Channel 4: Sun 7 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. (German Cold War Drama + subtitles) 6 / 8: Brandy Station.
Alex Edel takes General Jackson hostage but Leonora is monitoring the situation and tries to intervene. http://www.channel4.com/programmes/deutschland-83

Alexander
BBC Radio 4: Mon 8 – Fri 12 Feb 2016, 10.00 – 11.10, rpt 15.00 – 16.00. Daily episodes of 6 part radio drama by David Wade. The story of Alexander the Great starts with royal friction after his birth. Stars Barry Foster, Simon Ward and Geraldine James. Repeat of 2008 broadcast. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b007jx2h

Making History
BBC Radio 4: Tue 9 Feb 2016, 15.00 – 15.30. 1 / 8.
The historical magazine radio show returns for a new series. In the first of eight episodes, Mary Beard explains why 212 AD was a crucial year in world history, Helen Castor considers British victory myths, and Tom Charlton looks at the future of libraries. Hosted by Tom Holland. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zryym

Elizabeth I: A Timewatch Guide
BBC4: Wed 10 Feb 21.00 – 22.00 Repeated Thu 11 Feb 2016, 20.00 – 21.00.
Drawing on the BBC archives, Vanessa Collingridge explores the life of Elizabeth Tudor. As well as considering some of the most important events in Elizabeth’s reign, most notably her victory against the Spanish Armada, she considers how what we think we know about the Virgin Queen has changed over the centuries.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06zdll0

In Our Time: Rumi’s Poetry
BBC Radio 4: Thu 11 Feb 09.00 – 09.45.
Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the poetry of Rumi, the Persian scholar and Sufi mystic of the 13th Century.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06ztx2w

The Story of China
BBC Two: Thu 11 Jan 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 4 / 6: The Ming.
Michael Wood traces the role of rebellious peasant Hongwu in founding the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). The regime was authoritarian, we learn, a quality that found expression the vast fortifications of the Great Wall and the closed-off ritual spaces of the Forbidden City. Wood also considers why the dynasty fell from power. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b070p2q0

See Michael Wood’s ‘The Six Ages of China’ here: http://www.historyextra.com/article/premium/six-ages-china

Jericho
ITV: Thu 11 Feb 2016, 21.00 – 22.00. 6 / 8:
Set in the Yorkshire Dales in the 1870s, this drams series is set in the shantytown of Jericho, home to a community that will live, thrive and die in the shadow of the viaduct they’ve been brought together to build.
http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dzhmh7/jericho–series-1—episode-6

[Author]

Posts